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In the 1960’s, the second wave of feminism was spreading through the country. Much like the first wave of feminism, it focused on the equality for both males and females in America. However, it now concentrated on the female gender roles in society and sought to bring justice to ensure that women were treated as equals with men. This was no easy task due to the fact that the system of patriarchy has been placed into society for such a long time not only in American history but also in many other cultures. A patriarchy is defined as “a social system in which males are the primary authority figures central to social organization, occupying roles of political leadership, moral authority, and control of property, and where fathers hold authority over women and children. It implies the institutions of male rule and privilege, and entails female subordination,” according to the collective knowledge of the Wikimedia Foundation. Although the female has the ability to change the system of patriarchy, the system has been in power for so long that it has been approved as a social normality. Before the first wave of feminism, women could not obtain property or vote in America. This was due to the unsaid law that men were placed in a higher position of authority and thus could deny an entire population from certain rights by virtue of their gender. Such obstacles that date back to the hierarchy system of kings and princes provide little room for feminism to allow its ideals to be accepted by the society around them. This also indicates that the environment around them hold true to traditional ideals in which women would rarely hold a role in society and thus limited their influence in the world around them. One French writer, Simone de Beauvo...

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...troversy. Second wave feminism was no exception to these critiques to the movement. In their article, “Feminism,” Bryant stated that “Critics argue that there is too much focus on negative aspects, and that feminists sometime ignore recent social changes . Critics claim that feminists portray women as ‘passive’ victims, as if they are unable to act against discrimination. The same critics believe that feminists focus on one specific group, ignoring women from other cultures and ethnicities (such as black feminism).” Meaning that critics of feminism stated that much of the feminist movement focused on the negatives that the feminist movement brings. The ignorance shown towards current issues and the diversity of every woman’s characteristics that were often used by the feminism movement indicated that there were still aspects in the movement that needed improvement.